Rogue is a slim young man of average height with rather messy black hair that is tied in a ponytail, almost reaching down to his shoulders, along with some strands pointing upwards on top of his head and a prominent tuft obscuring most of his forehead. His hair is brushed to the right side of his face covering up his right eye; his appearance is similar to his future counterpart's. He has red eyes with slit pupils similar to that of a snake's, like Gajeel Redfox's eyes. Following the battle against the Dragons, Rogue gains a thin scar across the bridge of his nose. His black guild mark is located at his upper left shoulder.

Rogue wears a black trench coat that extends to his calves and closed down to his waist, held by a leather brown, silver-buckled belt; it has two, dark-grey buttons on the sides (two on the upper, and lower portions of the coat each), rolled-up cuffs at his wrists, a high collar, and several, white trimming on the coat's edges. Underneath the coat is grey-colored armored platting that completely covers his chest with golden inlays. He also wears a pair of brown small bands on the biceps of his coat, and brown cargo pants with dark inlays that are tucked under a pair of armored calf-length boots, which, on the front, bear plates with a cross-like motif on each boot.

Rogue is the quieter of the Twin Dragons. He mostly keeps a calm face and rarely shows any emotions, sans for interest in Gajeel. He has a aloof, antisocial and distant personality, much in contrast to Sting's calm, friendly and cheerful attitude.

Despite his cold and brooding persona, he does have a softer, caring side. He also has a strong belief on camaraderie, as when he told Sting that despite Yukino losing her match against Kagura and was subsequently humiliated and excommunicated by their former Guild Master, she was still their comrade of Sabertooth. Sting, whereas, merely brushes off Rogue's comment, suggesting that it's the way their Guild works and gave the matter little thought. Rogue does, however, have a softer, caring side. When his Exceed partner, Frosch, started to fret over being excommunicated because of its lack of strength, Rogue smiles and denounces Frosch's fears as just that, promising that it would be okay as long it was with him.

He also appears to be unusually kind and friendly towards his new guild and is very protective of Frosch. After joining New Fairy Tail, he forms several bonds with Sting, Lector, Frosch, Yukino, and most of all, Kagura (who he has romantic feelings for, but has trouble admiting it), making each of them his own family to protect and care for.

Additionally, like most other Dragon Slayers, Rogue suffers from motion sickness.

Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic: A Magic which allows Rogue to transform the physiology of his body into that of the Shadow Dragon; transforming his body into a shadow that cannot be touched by normal means. With this Magic, Rogue is also able to fade himself into shadows to move swiftly, dodging efficiently and making surprise attacks. However, if Rogue is caught while in a tangible form, or by another person in shadow form, he is then vulnerable to attacks. The shadows produced by Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic are able to be utilized in several different ways, allowing for a high level of adaptability; the shadows are able to be released in freeform, as condensed, or even molded into the shape of a weapon, taking on the properties of said chosen shape. As a member of the Third Generation of Dragon Slayers, Rogue learned this form of Magic through two means: by receiving the teachings of a Dragon named Skiadrum and by having Dragon Lacrima implanted into his body.

Shadow Dragon's Roar: Rogue's signature Dragon's Roar. He releases a large, hurricane burst of shadows from his mouth that damages a target with great blunt force along with a slicing effect that pierces their flesh.

Shadow Possession: A passive, Shadow Dragon Slayer spell that allows Rogue to transforms into shadows and move towards his target, then capturing them and leaving them immobile for a certain period of time.

Shadow Drive: A type of Magic-amplification technique used by Rogue that brings out the true power of his Shadow Dragon Slayer abilities, excluding the power boost granted by Dragon Force, yet, at the same time, seemingly enhancing his physical prowess to a degree, particularly his speed. It grants Rogue an aura of shadows that completely cloaks and continuously rises from his body. The technique also obscures Rogue's eyes, leaving only his round, blank irises visible. According to Rogue's fellow Dragon Slayer and partner Sting, Shadow Drive harnesses "the power that kills Dragons", and it indeed allowed the Shadow Dragon Slayer to momentarily overwhelm Gajeel Redfox, who had him completely outmatched beforehand. This state either grants Rogue the ability to perform new spells or makes them stronger, as the Sabertooth Mage has been shown employing several skills only while in said Drive. This technique is very similar to that used by Rogue's fellow Dragon Slayer and partner Sting, the similarly named White Drive.

Shadow Dragon's Claw: Rogue generates shadows from his feet and uses them to attack the target. Such kick becomes even stronger, as with great blunt force, the shadows also deal some cutting damage to the opponent.

Shadow Dragon's Crushing Fang: Rogue generates shadows from his hand and uses them to attack the target, leaving a trail of shadows behind in their wake. (Unnamed)

Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash: Rogue turns his body into shadows and then wraps himself around the target, assaulting them with a torrent of shadows generated from his hands.

Shadow Pursuit: Rogue transforms into shadows and moves towards his target at amazing speeds to keep up with, while at the same time, can't be attacked while in said shadow for only a specific amount of time. (Unnamed)

Dragon Force: Being a product of the Third Generation of Dragon Slayers, Rogue is capable of entering the most powerful form of the Dragon Slayer at will, without the need to consume strong, external sources of Magic. Such a feat greatly surprised those who had intimate knowledge of Dragon Slayer Magic. When this state is activated, Rogue body becomes much more akin to an actual Shadow Dragon's, with his whole body becoming covered in an aura of shadows even thicker and darker than that provided by Shadow Drive, and with thick dark intricate scale-like patterns appearing to cover the outer edges of his face, underneath and around his eyes, extending down from the side of his neck and onto the rest of his body. These are shown to be more and more uniform as they get farther from the central portion of his body, which instead bear several scattered, distinct scales, elongated and placed diagonally.

Shadow Dragon's Blade: A powerful spell, which can be a primary example of solid weapon-like shadow attack. Rogue gathers some shadows in his hand, and then forms it into a sharp blade, surrounded by the shadows it was created from. The blade can be sent towards targets from a distance and acts like a normal blade would, piercing the target's body on contact.

Unison Raid: A spell which allows two Mages to unite their Magic into a single, combined, stronger attack. Rogue has shown to be able to combine his Magic with Sting's creating powerful spells.

Holy Shadow Dragon's Flash Fang: After releasing a large amount of shadows from his hand, Rogue combines this with Sting's light, releasing a powerful burst of light and shadows at the target.

White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk: Together with Sting, the two Dragon Slayers release thin beams of respective shadow and light from their fingertips, which pierce through their target and heavily damages them.

Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Rogue is adept in melee combat, being highly skilled in generally punches, kicks and elbows. He employs his Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic to boost his offensive power as well as to outmaneuver opponents, landing enhanced blows from different angulations through the use of the evasive form granted him by Shadow Drive. The latter combination allowed him to fight and even overwhelm Gajeel Redfox for a while, despite ultimately being struck by the opposing Dragon Slayer.

Enhanced Durability: Rogue possesses good physical resilience, being struck by powerful melee blows from both Gajeel and Natsu and undergoing the latter's Fire Dragon's Wing Attack without suffering substantial injuries, and continuing to fight and even employing some of his best techniques afterwards.

Enhanced Speed: Rogue has been shown to possess above average speed, seen when he outmaneuvered Gajeel during their first battle, though, at the time, he had Shadow Drive activated.

Enhanced Strength:

Enhanced Endurance: Rogue has shown to possess a high amount of physical endurance, being able to confront two fellow Dragon Slayers at the same time with his partner Sting, being struck by powerful melee blows from both Gajeel and Natsu, all the while showing moderate signs of weariness and, in the end, still having the strength to stand back up and barrage his opponents with powerful Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic Spells. Even near the end of his battle with Natsu and Gajeel, Rogue proved able to perform a mighty Unison Raid with Sting, and only finally fell after being struck by Natsu's Dragpn Slayer's Secret Art.

Enhanced Reflexes: While employing Shadow Drive, Rogue proved limber enough to dodge several of Gajeel's own Iron Dragon Slayer Magic Spells, and, afterwards, effectively counterattacking the Iron Dragon Slayer, who, for a time, was unable to follow his erratic movements.

Enhanced Smell: As with other Dragon Slayers, Rogue is said to have a sharp sense of smell, capable of sensing a target that is even a few miles away or distinguish a person's scent.

Tactical Genius: Another similarity that Rogue shares with Sting is a very well tuned and fearsome intellect. Unless driven to the absolute brink during a battle, Rogue always plans out his attacks, magic or not, and has a tendency to plan out his foe's utter demise until the very end of the battle. A difference between Sting and Rogue, however, is that while Sting's spells are mostly straightforward attacks, Rogue's Shadow Dragon Slayer Spells all require a much more tactical approach to a battle with him. Timing, calculation, and proper placement are all key for his techniques to work, and rarely do they fail. When he is fighting alongside his partner, Sting, his attacks mix with Sting's own attacks and make for much more potent, deadly spells that often beg for chemistry between the two of them, allowing for many surprising and incredible attacks from the Twin Dragon Slayers.

Immense Magic Power: As one of the two Third Generation Dragon Slayers, Rogue has shown to possess an immense level of Magic Power, almost on par with, if not equal to Sting's. His Magic is a dark bluish-violet, with several black inlays when exerted.